The cabinet were only told of the decision to buy the original Trident C-4 system when the details of the secret deal with Jimmy Carter leaked out in the US.The 1981 cabinet papers show that John Biffen, the trade secretary, privately warned Thatcher in March not to underestimate the electoral damage the anti-nuclear movement could inflict.

James Simms/The Wall Street Journal Pro-nuclear Mayor Shigemi Kashiwabara, wearing a tie, versus anti-nuclear challenger Sadao Yamato, in a polo shirt in front of solar panels Activists have been fighting Chugoku Electric Power Co.'s plan for a Kaminoseki plant since it was first broached in 1982, and all eight mayoral elections since then have been fought mainly over the issue.